Track and Field Finishes Strong at Ivy League Heptagonal Championships

The weekend the track and field team had been waiting for finally arrived. All the long practices, distant meets, and hard workouts was to prepare the team for the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships. Both the men’s and women’s team had the chance to compete against the best in the Ancient Eight and try to secure a title.

“We're using all these different meets as opportunities to prepare for the Championships in Princeton” freshman sprinter Max Serrano-Wu said “We hope to improve on our 2nd place finish (women) and 3rd place finish (men) from the indoor championships.”

The teams had outstanding performances this past weekend but could not improve upon their finishes from indoor season. The women’s team finished in second, while the men finished in third.

"This was a great weekend for the Harvard track and field team,” said Jason Saretsky, the William W. "Bill" McCurdy Director of Track and Field/Cross Country. “In total, we had 11 conference champions and numerous additions to our all-time performance lists."

The most dominant performance of the meet came from freshman thrower Sam Welsh. Welsh was named Co-Most Outstanding Field Athlete by placing first in the discus (58.88m) and second in the shot put (16.66m). His first place performance in the discus was almost thirty feet ahead of the rest of his competitors.

“Leading up to the meet, I did my normal preparation and worked with my coaches on meet simulation throws, explosive weight room work, and visualization,” Welsh said. “One week before the competition, I had one of the best practices I’ve ever had with my dad where I made some major breakthroughs. It set me up for a great week of practices and throws, feeling relaxed and explosive.”

His second place performance in the shot put while not surprising, exceeded the expectations of the thrower considering the conditions of the meet and his past performances.

“Going into day two when I competed in shot put, it was raining and the circle was wet but I managed to come out with an outdoor PR and second place,” Welsh said. “It was a very exciting weekend and I was happy to be surrounded by my teammates after working hard with them all year to get to this point. I was very happy to be representing Harvard and share this moment with my coaches and teammates.”

Along with Welsh’s throwing spectacle, the men’s team also excelled in its sprints and middle distance. After sophomore sprinter Rodney Agyare-May broke the school record in the first round of the 400m with a time of 46.94, his teammate won the event in the 400m finals and proceeded to take back the record, winning in a time of 46.73.

Senior middle distance runner Myles Marshall continued his excellent track at Ivy Heps by defending his 800m crown. He won the 800m in 1:48.23, completing an impressive sweep of the 800m event by winning at both Indoor and Outdoor Ivy Heps.

Marshall, Agyare-May, and Williamson would team up with sophomore sprinter Kahlil Wassell to take home the 4x400m title, a feat they already accomplished during the indoor season. This stacked lineup of runners would win the last event of the day in a time of 3:11.35.

On the women’s side, the sprinters dominated the 100m event sweeping the top five spots. The unprecedented sweep was led by senior sprinter Ngozi Musa who ran a time of 11.675. Junior sprinter Micah Meekins would also bring home a league title for the Crimson, by winning the 200m in 24.00.

Stellar performances also came out of the distance and jumps events for the Harvard women. Sophomore distance runner had the eighth-fastest 1500m in school history, running a time of 4:24.72 to secure first place in the event. Junior distance runner Lisa Tertsch would go on to sweep the 5000m and 10000m events winning both with times of 16:13.95 and 35:05.32 respectively. Finally, junior jumper Simi Fajemisin completed the Indoor/Outdoor sweep of the triple jump, earning the win with a mark 13.14m.

Both the men’s and women’s team had excellent performances this past weekend full of school records and personal bests. However, the season is not over yet for the Crimson. Harvard track and field looks to continue their success at the IC4A/ECAC Championships in Princeton next weekend.

—Staff writer Mahtab Shibab can be reached at mahtab.shibab@thecrimson.com.